The present invention is directed toward a boat docking device and more particularly, toward an apparatus and method for aiding a person on a boat to dock the boat.
Typically, in order to dock a boat, a person on the boat jumps onto the dock as the boat moves toward the dock. Obviously, such an act is dangerous, not only because the person jumping may not always be capable of making such a leap, but also because the boat may be pitching due to waves in the water, thereby creating hazardous conditions for the person jumping. Furthermore, the boat may be damaged when the person jumps to the dock. That is, the person on the boat will not have much control over the boat while he or she is attempting this maneuver. As a result, the boat may scrape against the dock.
Another method for docking a boat is to have someone on the dock throw a mooring line to a person on the boat. The problem with this method is that no one may be on the dock when a sailor decides to dock his or her boat.
A number of patents have addressed the problems discussed above. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,440 to Barton discloses a boat mooring apparatus which includes a flexible rod secured to a dock and extended over an edge of the dock. A weight is attached to the rod which bends the rod so that a person on a boat may grasp the rod. The rod helps to steady the person on the boat so that he or she may dock the boat. The problem with this rod, however, is that it is inconvenient. That is, a bar attached to the device and extending over the water must first be moved by the boat. This movement causes the bar to be rotated which causes the rod to be rotated so that the rod is now bent toward the boat and a person on the boat may now grasp the rod. A further problem is that the because the bar is pivotable, it may be knocked out of position so that when the boat approaches the dock, it may not come into contact with the bar.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,329 to Brushaber discloses a mooring line holding device which includes a rod which is secured to a dock and extends over an edge of the same. The rod is pivotable so that the rod may be placed in a position, before leaving the dock, to enable a person on a boat to pick up mooring lines which are hooked onto the rod, as the boat returns to the dock. The problem with this rod is that because it is pivotable, it may shift its position before the boat returns so that a person on the boat may not be able to reach the rod as the boat approaches the dock.